


Grandma Ida, the Ally

by wastefulreverie



Series: PhannieMay Shots 2018 [20]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Drama, Gen, Mansons, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-10-01 00:44:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17234234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wastefulreverie/pseuds/wastefulreverie
Summary: Sam and her mother are having another argument.





	Grandma Ida, the Ally

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for day 21 of PhannieMay 2018 - Battle.

The two women stared each other in the eye, both of them equally refusing to yield to the other. The battle of intense silence was intense, completely dependent on which weaker woman would look away first. Yet, their fierce duel trudged on, and their eyes bore into the other for so long that it seemed impossible to look away, to hopelessly surrender before the other. This was a test of endurance, of will, and neither was going to back down. Their battle was at a stalemate.

It had started with an argument minutes earlier when Pamela and Jeremy had caught Sam sneaking out of their mansion with a suspicious duffle bag, when inspected, was filled to the brim with chunky Fenton tech and expensive medical supplies. They demanded an explanation, to which Sam gave none. Thus, the intricate battle against mother and daughter had begun.

Their eyes bore into each other, their souls battling for superiority. Sam was fighting to escape her family, to continue fleeing into the night with no justification to her parents. Pamela was fighting for order, for her child to stop her rebellious and dangerous behavior that was tearing their family apart from the inside.

Jeremy Manson stood at the sidelines, watching with growing interest at the fervent stare-down between his wife and daughter. He felt like it was his duty to intervene, but something told him that coming between these two women would ensue the same result as putting his hand into a tank full of piranhas. So he backed off silently, observing.

The longer the wordless battle of volition dragged on, the more tighter Sam clenched her fists. She was clearly getting impatient, but Pamela had all night. But Sam couldn't surrender, she had somewhere she needed to be. She had people, namely Danny, depending on her. She couldn't let him down just because her parents were proving to be an irritating obstacle. With every wasted second, the stakes were raised and that meant that Danny could seriously get hurt.

Pamela, on the other hand, waited with a subdued rage for Sam to come to her senses. Once her daughter looked away from her mother's stare, that meant she had won, and she was allowed to unleash her fury onto Sam. In all due time, she would win, and she, unlike her daughter, she didn't have a time constraint burdening her. But of course, Pamela didn't know about the true urgency of Sam's actions and why she felt the need to sneak out this late at night.

After what seemed like minutes of silence, there was a loud cough that drew both of their attentions away from the other. Ida Manson had woken up from the earlier commotion and was now staring at her family flabbergasted.

“What the hell is this?” she asked, driving her scooter between Pamela and Sam. The two women only simmered more when their battle was interrupted, but contained themselves in the presence of Ida.

“ _Mother,_ ” Jeremy chastised. “Language!”

“Screw language. Tell me why I heard shouting a few minutes ago and had to wake up to find this mess!”

“Well, you can blame your granddaughter, _Samantha_ , because for some reason she thought it was a good idea to sneak out of the house with a bag full of ghost tech from the weird Fentons and a first aid kit!” Pamela exploded, expecting Ida to turn to Sam with disappointed shock.

Instead, Ida glanced at Sam and looked back at Pamela and her son. “And?” she asked, placing a hand on her hip.

“'And'?” Jeremy turned to his mother, concerned by her apparent apathy. “She was sneaking out!”

Ida didn't falter for a moment. “Well did you ever think that she might have a reason to?”

Pamela and Jeremy shared a baffled look for a moment, before turning on Ida.

“What are you saying? She's being rebellious and doing dangerous things in the night! There's nothing that could justify sneaking out without permission!” Pamela shrieked, attempting to sound authoritative, but sounding more and more desperate instead.

And just like that, the battle changed. Instead of Sam standing alone against her parents, it was two against two. Sam didn't know why Ida was on her side, after all, she was breaking the rules and doing something dangerous, but she supposed her grandmother was always the odd one out in the family. Or maybe, she'd finally lost her marbles. Either way, Sam didn't care. She just needed out of the house as soon as possible.

“Maybe you're just close-minded! I'm not some little kid anymore, Mom and Dad. I can't really explain, but there _is_ something I have to do, and I can be responsible for _myself_. I knew you wouldn't understand, because you never do! You've never tried to understand me in my entire life! At least Bubbe is trying to at least listen to me! All you've done tonight is scream and stare at me!”

“And all you've done tonight is being disrespectful and defiant!” Pamela declared. “Besides, you haven't given us a reason to trust you since middle school when you came home one day with half your hair shaved-”

“Oh, so it's all about my fashion choices? My music preferences? The types of books I read? You don't even care about my morals and choices, because you can't get over the fact that I'm not some sort of perfect daughter! It scares you that I have my own priorities to fulfill that you don't know about! You don't trust me because I'm different than you, not because I'm 'irresponsible'! I don't fool around with boys, I get near perfect grades, and I've never considered doing drugs! So what reasons are there to distrust me?”

“Maybe the fact that we just caught you sneaking out of the house, young lady!” Jeremy pointed out. “That's far enough reason to distrust you.”

Sam narrowed her eyes, “I told you that I have my reasons, and I will stand by them.”

“How are we supposed to 'accept' them if you won't even tell us what they are?” Pamela said with a hint of disgust. “You're being stupid, Sammy. I knew you've been different ever since you started hanging out with those poor, bad influencing boys-”

“Pamela, I don't think-” Ida said.

“ _You what_?” Sam glowered. “What did you just say about Danny and Tucker?”

Pamela laughed in response. “Of course, why didn't I see it? That's all that this is about, tonight. Isn't it? It has something to with them, those delinquents are the reason you're breaking curfew. I mean, how did I not see it? You have a bag full of Fenton brand junk!”

“Don't you _dare_ insult my friends,” Sam shouted. “You don't know anything!”

“Maybe, because you're being too stubborn to tell us anything,” Jeremy fake coughed.

“Shut up, Dad!”

Jeremy looked like he'd just been slapped, and bounced back twice as angered. “Samantha, I swear, if you-”

“Jeremy, she's trying to get on your nerves! Don't stoop to her level!” Pamela hissed. “ _We_ are the parents.”

“Are you really?” Sam asked. “When have you ever been my parents? All you ever do is get in the way of what's important!”

“And you're just a rebellious child!”

There was suddenly very loud coughing and wheezing, that broke the family from their heated argument. Ida was hunched over on her scooter, suddenly looking very pale.

“Just remember... I forgot medic – medicine-” she rasped, keeping her head down. “Hard to... breathe-”

“Mom,” Jeremy said worriedly, his anger subsiding for concern. “Just, just take deep breaths. I'll get you, uh – oh, crap. What do I do? Pamela? Do we give her the medicine or call 911 or do inhalers work or CPR-”

Meanwhile, Sam also momentarily disregarded the battle between she and her parents. She rushed forward to help Ida, who was beginning to hyperventilate, until the older woman subtly winked at her. Why did she...?

Oh. She was _brilliant_.

It was a diversion, of course. But why would Ida _help_ Sam? She'd done it before, but this time she had no reason to let Sam go free. Unless... unless she knew something she shouldn't know about. Or maybe she trusted her way too much.

Nevertheless, Sam put her worries about what Ida could know aside, and used her parents' momentary panic as an opportunity. Pamela and Jeremy had both fled to the kitchen to call their medical adviser and to scour the cabinets for Ida's medicine. Sam grabbed the bag her mother had confiscated, and fled out the door without looking back. Danny needed her, and she had no time to spare.

She had won this battle, but she still had to help Team Phantom get through the next one.

 


End file.
